A Child That Shouldn't Have Been
by Wings of Speed
Summary: Angel gets the surprise of his life once he finds out who Angel Starr really is...
1. Chapter 1

Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : I don't own them though I wish I did.

Warning : Nothing really.

Chapter 1

Buffy glared at the Vampire standing in front of her, she could sense one approaching from behind her, trying to set up an ambush. *We'll see about that!* She thought, spinning quickly while at the same time throwing the stake she had in her hand at the Vampire she was just starting to spin away from. He dodged quickly, but not quick enough. The stake embedded in his heart and just moments later he exploded into dust.

Buffy turned to face the coward who was approaching from behind. Coward had friends, three very mean looking Demons, something or others. Coward may have been handsome, except for the ridges across his forehead now and the quite nasty dental problem he seemed to have. "You know," Buffy quipped, "I could put you in touch with a real good Dentist, might help you with those terrible canines you have there."

Coward snarled, looking pointedly at one of his friends. The smallest of the three Unknown Demons lunged for Buffy. His small beady eyes watching the Slayer's every move, *Like a wolf watching it's prey.* Buffy shook that thought off, stealthily watching the Demon as he sped her way. She suddenly moved to the right, spinning quickly to face him as he came to a stop. A quick palm out slam to the face followed by a vicious undercut to the stomach and the ugly Demon was face first in the pavement. 

At the same time the world begun to suddenly teeter totter for Buffy, like a crazy Ferris Wheel gone bezerk. She shook her head, trying to clear it but that only brought on a bout of nasea. She backpedaled, watching as the two demons still standing started to slowly circle her. Suddenly something flew past her in a blurr. Moments later the battle was over and one lone vampire stood there staring at the sick Slayer.

He advanced toward her, never taking his evil eyes from her pale face. "Not even a thank you?" He asked in his British accent.

Buffy glared at him, holding the stake up in her hand, in front of her for the both of them to see. Spike shook his head and smiled evilly at the Slayer. "I'm not here to hurt you this night. I just couldn't see some other bloke taking you down when that's going to be my pleasure. But I refuse to battle an ill Slayer. I'll find you again when you don't look so…." His voice trailed off as the Slayer suddenly collapsed there at his feet.

He looked cautiously around, wondering if it was a trick of the Slayer's and her friends. There was no movement in the dark alley and he could sense no warm blooded mortals skulking around in the shadows. He looked down at the unconscious Slayer laying at his feet. *What an opportunity,* Spike thought to himself. *Not everyday that a Slayer collapses at your feet.* His eyes evilly took in the scene, his mind racing with all the possibilities. *I could torture her mercilessly.* He laughed to himself. Then a trully great idea presented itself. He still wanted to get revenge on Angel, and he had the perfect tool to do just that, right at his feet….

Then just as quickly his oversized ego took hold too. *But I want her to see the end coming and I want to make Angel suffer. He'd suffer alright if I killed this bitch, but I wouldn't have any sport in it. I want them both to squirm…* So with that decision, Spike picked up the limp body on the pavement and carried her to the nearest hospital.

He left her laying outside, just beyond the emergency room's sliding glass doors, *Someone is sure to find her, if not then the bloody blokes' are blind.* Spike thought as he walked away from the Slayers prone form.

A few blocks down the street he stopped at a payphone, checked to local directory and dialed a number. A man sounding somewhat sleepy answered the phone almost immediately. "Buffy?"

"'Nother guess." Spike said menacingly into the receiver.

"Spike?" Giles said, confusion seeping from his sleepy voice.

"Righto!" Spike said, rolling his eyes heavenward. "Chock one up for the stupid Watcher."

Giles grumbled something inaudible, "What do you want?"

"I just thought I'd call and let you know that your Slayer is at the Local Sunnydale Hospital." Spike said and hung up the phone, not even waiting for a reply. *I can't believe I didn't kill her when I had the chance.* Spike growled to himself.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Buffy groaned as the world tilted back into view. *What happened?* She wondered, glancing around at the white washed wall. *It smells like disinfectant here….* Her thoughts scurried off for a few moments and the blackness threatened to envelope her once more. She shook her head and quickly wished she hadn't. *I feel like I've been hit by a dozen MAC Trucks,* She thought as a young nurse entered the room.

She smiled down at her and glanced at the clipboard she held in her hands. "Nice to have you back amongst the land of the living," The nurse joked. Her dark brown eyes sparkled, and she quickly pushed a stray strand of her long black hair behind her ear. She looked back towards the door, as if waiting for someone else to enter. When no one did she shrugged and turned her attention back towards Buffy.

Buffy just eyed her, not saying a word. There was something strange about her, Buffy just couldn't pinpoint what. "I'm a friend of Gile's." The nurse said, as if she could read Buffy's thoughts.

Buffy raised her eyebrows, this was getting just a little to strange for the Slayer. "And?" Buffy asked.

"He should be on his way." The nurse said. "I called him just as soon as I found out who you were. It seems someone named Spike had already warned him about your visit to the emergency room though." The nurse continued on, brightly.

Buffy's eyes narrowed. *Spike.* She thought to herself. Brief flash backs of the fight begun to pop up before her hazy vision. The three unknown demons. The world starting to spin. Spike coming to her rescue. The world suddenly going black. *What in the hell happened?* She asked herself.

"How old are you Buffy?" The nurse asked, interrupting the young girl's thoughts.

"Huh?" Buffy asked, looking questioningly up at the young nurse. "My age…um, seventeen..eighteen. Something like that. Why?"

"Do you know that your pregnant?"

Buffy's eyes widened in surprise and her mouth dropped open in shock. "I'm what?" 

"Your pregnant." 

"That can't be." Buffy said.

"The test came back positive." The nurse said.

"No," Buffy argued. "It's just not possible."

"What's not possible?" Giles asked from the doorway.

Buffy turned strickened eyes towards her friend and mentor. She couldn't answer. She couldn't believe it, it just wasn't possible.

"Buffy is pregnant." The nurse said, turning to look at Giles.

Giles turned his dark eyes to Buffy, watching as tears suddenly started to spill down the young Slayer's cheek. "Buffy?" He asked.

"It's not possible." She said smally. Her voice was quivering, her eyes closed against the truth. "Angel can't have children."

"Angel?" The nurse asked, looking suddenly shocked. "Angel, as in Angelus?"

Giles just nodded his head. Buffy's answer was just to cry harder. *This can't be happening!* She yelled at herself. *It just can't be!*

"How could you let this happen?" The nurse asked, looking accusingly at Giles.

"Who in the hell are you?" Buffy finally asked, looking up the woman. Her hands were wrapped around her middle, as if trying to stave off the truthfulness of the situation.

"My name is Edna Thornington. I'm a Watcher also, like Giles." The woman said, looking down at Buffy. "You had sex with Angel?"

"I think that's kind of personal and non of your business." Buffy shot back at Miss Thornington. 

"I just need to get my facts straight." Edna said, looking strangely down at Buffy. "Angel is a vampire, so there fore this child cannot be his. Who else have you had sex with?"

Buffy's mouth dropped open in surprise. "I really think that is non of your damn business!" Buffy shouted. She whipped the white bed sheets off of her legs and hopped down from the bed. "I'm leaving this crazy…." She glared at the nurse. "I'm leaving." She turned to look at Giles, "Are you coming?"

"What?" Giles asked, looking at Buffy. "Oh, um of coarse. I guess I should fill out the release forms and such shouldn't I?" Giles asked, turning to look back at Edna Thornington.

The nurse just nodded her head.

Buffy turned around one last time to glare at the nurse. "And this doesn't go any further than this room or I'll hunt you down and kill you myself, Watcher or not!"

Edna just smiled, amused by the Slayer's murderous mood. *A pregnant Slayer was something of interest indeed. To bad there hadn't been more of them over the centuries. A Slayer alone is enough to put fear into the hearts of evil things, imagine what a pregnant one could do?* Edna laughed as the Slayer turned and left.

Buffy turned to look at Giles. "I mean it Giles. No one finds out, not my mother and especially not Angel!" Buffy turned again, walking up to the receptionist's desk. "I'm ready to leave." She point blank told the woman sitting behind the desk.

"And your name is?" The woman asked, looking up coldly at Buffy.

"Buffy Anne Summers."

"Ah yes." The woman said. She shuffled through some papers and turned her cold green eyes up to Buffy. "Are you sure your ready to go?"

"Um yeah." Buffy shot back. "I said I was didn't I?"

The woman regarded Buffy coldly. "Yes you did."

"I assume you're her legal guardian?" The woman asked looking up at Giles.

Giles cleared his throat. "Um, actually…"

"Either you are or your aren't." The woman said.

"Um, yes I am." Giles conceded.

"Good, then I just need you to sign here." The woman said, indicating a line on a sheet of paper. "And also right here." She pointed to another line on another sheet of paper.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Buffy looked at Giles as he got into the car. "I mean it Giles. Not a word about this to anyone. I don't need my mom wigging out about anything else and I really don't need Angel here trying to figure out what's going on. I can handle this on my own."

Giles looked straight ahead, but said. "Alright, it's your disicion. It's your child. What ever you want to do, we'll do it your way."

Buffy smiled. "Good."

"What about the others? Are you going to tell them?"

"The others?" Buffy repeated. "I hadn't thought of that yet." She paused, her mind racing. "Yes," She finally said. "But no one outside of our little gang is to know. And I mean no one!"

Giles just grimly nodded his head. If it was one thing he had learned about the Slayer, it was you don't argue with her when she's made her mind up!


	2. Prologue

Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : I don't own Buffy or Angel, if I did they'd still be together and on the same network.

Warning : None really.

Prologue

Buffy watched as Angel walked away from her for the last time….there would be no more next times, this time it was final. The swirling mists and smoke shrouded his dark figure, within seconds he was lost to sight. A single tear escaped from her eyes…Willow walked up next to her and threw a comforting arm around the Slayer's shoulders. "Y'all right Buffy?" Willow asked, staring off into the same direction as her distraught friend.  
Buffy held her head high and forced a smile for her friend. "Of coarse I'm alright. I'm the Chosen One. The Slayer." She paused, once again staring off into the distance that had swallowed Angel up. "I have to be alright…" She said, her voice loosing some of it's bravado.

Willow just sadly shook her head and gently steered the young woman towards their waiting friends. "He'll be back," Willow said, looking Buffy straight in the eyes. "He always comes back, he can't stay away from you!"

Buffy sadly shook her head, "Not this time," she said quietly. She looked up, staring Giles and Xander right in their tortured eyes. "This time he's gone for good. He can't risk it anymore, I can't risk it. I won't be the cause of him loosing his soul again. I won't be the blame for it, not again." 

Willow affectionately squeezed her shoulders. "I can't believe that Buffy…I mean that he won't be back. I know you would never risk his soul again. I'm sure he knows that too." She trailed off, her thoughts wondering.

Buffy sniffed, wiping the tears from her soot blackened cheeks. *Man, I must look a fright,* she thought….*No wonder he couldn't wait to get away from me.* A sudden wave of nausea over came her, her world begun to spin crazily, tilting crazily off its axis. Buffy fumbled in her steps, starting to fall, the hard pavement filling her vision. 

Xander reached a arm out and helped Willow to steady her. "I think she may have taken a harder hit then we thought…." Willow trailed off, looking over to Giles. The Watcher's eyes carefully assessed the Slayer's tattered appearance. 

"Um…." Giles accent punctured the silence, "She's taken harder hits than that…." He trailed off, watching the Slayer with growing unease. *Something strange is at play here,* He could just feel it permeating the cold night air.

"Let's get her out of the bloody cold night air, shall we?" Was all Giles said, not voicing his worries. *What new test were the Powers That Be throwing at the Slayer this time?* He wondered silently.

Just as that thought escaped his mind, Buffy doubled over in pain….


	3. Chapter 2

Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : I don't own it though I wish I did.

Warning : None

Chapter 2

"Are you sure?" Willow asked, looking oddly at Buffy. 

Buffy just bobbed her head in the affirmative. "Honestly Willow, who else have I slept with other than him?" Buffy asked, looking over at her friend.

Willow was silent for a few moments. "Uh, no one that you've told me about, at least. You have told me everything haven't you?" She asked, this pained look briefly crossing the Wiccan's face.

"Of coarse I've told you everything. I always tell you everything, don't I?" Buffy answered back.

Willow just nodded her head, looking over at Xander and Giles. Oz sat next to her, just staring awkwardly at Buffy. Buffy returned his stare, than looked over at Giles and Xander. "Do I have something on my face?" She asked, reaching her left hand up to her face and pretending to wipe something away.

Oz just shook his head, "No, it's just hard to believe that you're pregnant." He paused, tightening his arm around Willow's shoulder. "I mean, pregnant with Angel's baby…is that even humanly possible?"

All eyes turned to Giles, as if waiting for him to pull the answer out of his mysterious hat of answers. "Um, humanly possible…?" He repeated, looking at Buffy as if the answer were written on her face. "It must be humanly possible because it has happened, I just don't know how." He looked over at Willow and Oz, "I'll need your help, Willow, with this."

Willow perked up and looked anxiously over at the Slayer's Watcher. "What do you need me to do?" She asked, her voice rising in excitement. 

"Search through the databases while I check through the old Watcher Diaries. There may be something in there to help us figure out what is happening this time." He paused, removing his glasses and wiping them off and then putting them back on his face. "I'll need all the help I can get." He looked over to Buffy. "Even Cordelia's." 

Buffy's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Definitely NOT!" She shouted, near hysteria. "We are not going to tell that self-serving-" She began.

"Buffy." Xander said.

"Egotistical-" Buffy continued.

"Buffy!" Xander nearly shouted.

"Impossible bitc-" Buffy was almost finished.

"BUFFY!" Xander yelled.

"What?" She asked, innocently looking over at Xander as his color returned to its normal shade of pasty white slightly tanned.

"Be nice." Was all he said.

"I was," Buffy replied. "I didn't say that she was a giant, over-inflated Barbie doll that is more worried about her hair being out of place than where her boyfriend for this week is at, did I?" She asked, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Or that she's got the worst people manners I've ever seen, or-"

"Alright Buffy, I think we get the point." Xander replied dryly. "I really think we got the point, about two puns ago."

Buffy just smiled. "We are SO not telling her a thing about this baby-" Buffy started.

"Don't matter anyway," Xander said, smiling. "She left a few days ago to go to L.A."

This time Buffy was speechless. "She w-what?" She asked, looking first at Xander than over to Willow. "She left to go to L.A.?" Xander nodded his head to the question. "No one thought to clue me in on this one? No one thought it was important to tell me that she followed Angel to L.A.?"

"Um, Buff…I didn't hear anyone say that she followed him to L.A. She just went to L.A. to try her hand at acting. She has it in that pretty little head of her's that she has talent or something like that and that she's going to be a famous actress. At least, that was how I understood her, but with Cordelia, that don't mean a thing." Xander laughed. A few chuckled with him.

"Um, Giles," Willow spoke up. "When do you want to start researching?" She paused, looking curiously over at Buffy. "Exactly what am I looking for?"

"Anything having to do with the Slayer and pregnancy. I don't care how odd it may seem or how out of the ordinary…" He took his glasses off again and proceeded to clean them off again. Placing them back on his face, he turned his gaze to the Slayer in question. "Look up any information you can get on Vampires also. See if there are any records of them conceiving a child. I don't care if the lead doesn't seem plausible, just follow it. This pregnancy isn't plausible, but it's here and growing inside of Buffy. I want to know what to expect."

"What about the council?" Buffy asked.

"I'll deal with the council when the time comes, until then, don't worry about them." Giles replied. Buffy's brows raised in surprise. This was not the traditional side of the Watcher that she saw, this was a new side. And she LIKED it!

"Well then, what about Edna Thornington? You two seemed to of known each other." Buffy questioned.

Giles turned his gaze away. Looked no one in the eyes, just stared down at the floor. "Giles?" Buffy asked. Still no answer, his eyes remained glued to the floor. "Giles?" Buffy repeated. The older man seemed lost in thought, out somewhere beyond the graveyard. "GILES!" Buffy yelled, practically in his ear.

The British man jumped, his head snapping up to look the Slayer straight in the eyes. "W-What?"

"Edna Thornington?" Buffy said.

"Edna Thornington?" The Watcher repeated, dumbly, like his mind was still lost in thought.

"Yeah, what about her? Will we have to worry about her going back to the council?" Buffy asked, looking strangely at the Watcher.

"Um, I'm not sure." Giles conceded. "I'll go and have a word with her later."

"Who is she?" Willow asked.

Buffy looked over at her friend. "She was the nurse who took care of me when Spike dropped me off in front of the Emergency Room doors…" Her voice trailed off, still disbelieving that the dangerous vampire had left her go just like that. Strange things were definitely at work in Sunnydale. "Anyway, it so happens that Miss Thornington is also a Watcher." She returned her gaze to Giles, as another question popped into her mind. "Um, Giles, just why is there another Watcher here in Sunnydale? A Slayer can only have one Watcher right?"

"Um, yes." Giles answered distractedly.

"Then why is she here?"

"I'm not sure. I'll find that out when I go to speak to her." Giles answered. "If we're done here with the third degree interrogation, I suggest we get going and start trying to figure out exactly what is going on around here, especially with you, Buffy."

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"What about this?" Willow asked, calling a file up on the computer.

Giles read the entry over and shook his head. "No, the vampiress was already pregnant when she was turned. If you read further down in the entry, it says when she gave birth to the child, it was very much dead. It turned into ashes a few moments after birth." Giles took his glasses off and wiped a hand across his brow and returned the spectacles to his nose.

"Keep looking Willow. We're bound to find something sooner or later."

"Hopefully more sooner than later." Willow said quietly, her eyes defocusing for probably the twelfth dozen time in the last hour or so. The word Angelus materialized in front of her eyes once they focused back in. "Giles, there's and entry here about Angelus."

Giles hurried back, looking at the computer screen over her shoulder. "What's it say?" He asked, his voice hushed.

"Not much. Just about his turning and his relationship with Darla…" She read on, her eyes glancing over most of the article. "Nothing really of importance."

Giles left out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "DAMN!" He said, pounding his hand down on the computer table. "We haven't been able to find a damn thing to explain this pregnancy, one that by all rights just shouldn't have happened!"

"We'll find something Giles. Just calm down and get back to looking in those Watcher Chronicles. I think we'll find something in there before we find something in the databases." Willow said, unsure of what else to say, she returned to the computer in front of her.

Giles turned back and returned to the large open book on a table not far from the computer terminal. He flipped though it, just glancing over most of the entries. Nothing jumped out at him so he turned the page, glancing over that page as well. This continued for the next hour or so, until the words started to blend into the next. The page began to blur and the old Watcher was about to call it quits when suddenly to words Pregnancy and Slayer jumped off the page and demanded to be looked at.

"Willow!" The Watcher exclaimed excitedly. "I think I may have found it!" He begun to browse over the entry quickly, verifying what his mind was already telling him was the answer he had been seeking. The entry read as follows:

_Delphia fell in love with a Warchaste Demon, not a very homely creature, but the Slayer said it was more than his looks that had attracted her. His personality, which I must admit, after getting to know the ugly thing, is actually quite charming. His name is S'yvron. His father is the leader of his particular Warchaste clan. He returned the Slayer's feelings, which was a little strange in my opinion. A Slayer loving a Demon? Who had ever heard of such a thing? It was just unheard of, why it was ludicrous! Delphia would not listen to me though. She fell in love with S'yvron and even mated with the ugly little creature. _

What happened next would go down in Watcher and Slayer history as an improbability that was extremely hard to explain, and even harder to believe. The Slayer and the Demon were incompatible, nothing should have resulted from the mating, but it did. Delphia became pregnant, I spoke to the Watcher's Council, unsure of what was happening here….Even the council was dumbfounded, I never thought I'd see that day. They were not even sure of what was happening to the Slayer. It wasn't possible for the Slayer to become pregnant by a Demon, an ordinary human maybe, but not the Slayer. No, never the Slayer, she was suppose to be pure good. The embodiment of all that was good, she just wasn't suppose to become pregnant by a Demon. Or so they thought. Delphia had proven them wrong, yet again.

Delphia's pregnancy was anything but normal, but one didn't expect anything that the Slayer does to be normal. The pregnancy lasted for a very long fourteen months, after which Delphia gave birth to a baby girl. A fully human baby girl, there was no sign of her father's Demon blood. Upon further investigation, it was discovered, though Delphia and S'yvron had mated, Delphia was the child's only parent. S'yvron in no way had anything to do with the child. It was solely the act of love that had created the child….Let me try to explain this a little better, I just have to figure out how to word it so future Watcher's will understand if it ever happens again….

Although Delphia and S'yvron had sex, like a couple of regular people, they were anything but regular. Delphia was a super enhanced human being, S'yvron was a murderous Demon that the Slayer should have killed long ago. They mated, but did not create a child. The child was created later, solely by the Slayer's body, in response to the action of sex. Although S'yvron is not biologically the child's father, she wouldn't have been created if the two hadn't had sex, so in a sense the Demon is really the baby's father…I hope that makes sense, it still doesn't to me and I'm he one who has to understand it here and know. It will take some getting use too, believe me…

Giles looked up at Willow as he finished reading part of the entry. "It seems we may have our answer." He said.

Willow nodded her head. "At least this means it won't be part Vampire." Her voice was small as she voiced the fear that everyone had been dealing with but was afraid to say in fear of upsetting Buffy.

"Yes," Giles said softly. He looked back down to the document. "There's more, let's see what it says."

_Delphia named the child Aurora., she was the light in Delphia's life. Aurora, it became apparent, was a pure Slayer, her powers far surpassed those of her mother. She was at the least, if not more, ten times more powerful than her mother. Her powers far surpassed those of the traditional Slayers before her, I doubt we will ever see anyone as strong as the Slayer's child on this world again. Already I know she is in great danger…Demon's come from everywhere in an attempt to get a piece of the rare Slayer. Mostly vampires, all after her blood. Delphia and S'yvron have managed so far to protect the child, but I fear the day will come when even they won't be enough. I dread that day…._

The day I feared more than death itself has come and gone. A vampire, one who called himself the Master, took young Aurora's life. Four months old, she already looked to be about eight or nine. Her young life over before the blink of an eye. Delphia grieved over the loss of her daughter, she went after the Master and was herself killed. S'yvron joined his beloved in death, he sacrificed his life trying to save Delphia…I fear we will never see a child the likes of Aurora again…but if she does show up somewhere again, take care of her for all the forces of evil will be after this one child….


	4. Chapter 3

Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : I don't own it though I wish I did.

Warning : None

Chapter 3

Buffy groaned, the pain becoming unbearable. *Who would've thought childbirth would be this bad? Hadn't women been doing it for like eternity or something?* Buffy wondered to herself in between contractions. *If I ever see Angel again, I'll kill the bastard!* Was the thought that entered her mind as another contraction grabbed her weary body. Another contraction far stronger than any of the previous boughts of pain. *If I ever see the bastard again, it'll be to soon!* Her mind screamed. *I swear I'm going to kill him!* Her mind caught up with her, reasoning coming back as the shroud of pain slipped away for a few more seconds. *You can't kill something that's already dead.* Her mind reasoned. *Oh shut up!* She told herself, *So I'll just turn the bastard into dust, that's all.* 

*Whatever.* Her mind replied.

She gritted her teeth as yet another pain, far worse than any others grabbed her body and wouldn't let go. She bore down, preparing to push the baby's head out, but Giles told her to wait, it wasn't time yet. "Why the hell didn't I go to a hospital?!" She screamed, fighting down the panic that was starting to rise up in her chest. "At least there I could've gotten something for the pain."

"You know very well why you couldn't go to the hospital," Giles said, looking up at her.

She suddenly felt very exposed having Giles down there, seeing every bit of her. *Talking about embarrassing moments,* her mind quipped. *Shut up!* She told herself, for what seemed the hundredth time. Another contraction seized her, she bit her lower lip, trying to clamp down on the scream that was lodged in her throat. *I guess it's a good thing Angel isn't here.* Her mind said. *Shut up!* She screamed at herself again. *FINE!* Her mind yelled back. Buffy actually smiled, in spite of the pain.

"Are you alright Buffy?" Giles asked, seeing the strange smile playing across the Slayer's face.

"Yes," She bit out between contractions. They were right on top of each other now, coming one after the other. There was no rest now in between them. Her body was weary and she just wanted to get the whole damn thing over with. "Can I push yet?" She hissed between clenched teeth.

Giles head ducked down and Buffy felt herself grow hot with embarrassment. "Alright," Came the Watcher's British accent. "On the next one, push."

The contraction started out painfully, Buffy gritted her teeth against the harsh sensation, biting her bottom lip until she felt warm blood trickle down her chin. "Easy," Giles said, "Count to ten slowly and as the contraction approaches it's end push. I'm going to pull the baby's head out, or try to at least." Giles chuckled, trying to make lite of the situation.

Buffy just glared at him. "You better get this kid out of me or I'm walking to the nearest hospital. Understand me?"

Giles turned wide eyes to the Slayer. "Um, yes of coarse."

Buffy bore down, tensing her body with the contraction and pushing as she counted slowly to ten and just near the end of the contraction she pushed with all her might, which considering who she was, was quite a lot. "Easy now," Giles said, poking his head back up. "Just relax and rest for a few moments until the next one."

The door to the house opened and Willow poked her head in. "Everything OK?" She asked, walking in and closing the door silently behind her.

Buffy grunted as another contraction started. "Does it look like everything's alright?" She bit out.

Willow looked away, instead turning her gaze on Giles. "How are things going?" She asked.

Giles met her troubled eyes. "Long," He said, "Alright Buffy, push ." He instructed. "Try to push this kid out to me." He looked back towards Willow as Buffy strained and groaned in pain. "She's been at this for the last ten or so hours. I hope it comes soon."

"Child birth can last for a day or more, depending on the mother." Buffy grated out. "And the baby." *I hope this doesn't last much longer or I'm going to find Angel when this is all over and done with and personally de-ball him myself!* She thought evilly to herself, a wicked grin spreading across her sweat drenched features. *This isn't his fault, and you know that.* Her mind said. *I thought I told you to shut up!* Buffy shouted back. *Talking to yourself, that's a scarey thought.*

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Buffy shouted out loud.

"What?" Giles asked at the same time Willow asked "Who?"

"No one." Buffy said, glaring at both. "I was talking to myself."

"That's not a good thing, is it?" Willow asked, looking over at Giles than over at Buffy. "Have you thought of a name yet?" She asked, trying to steer the conversation onto a better topic. 

"Yeah," Buffy answered, huffing as the pain lessened in between contractions. "Damn, I wish this kid would hurry up and get the hell out here and get this thing over with."

"So," Willow asked, looking cautiously over at Giles. "What names have you come up with?"

"Um…" Buffy broke off as another contraction grabbed her stomach and twisted her innards. She gritted her teeth together, cursing Angel seven ways to Sunday and then some. Willow raised an eyebrow and looked at Giles amused.

"She's been doing that since about four hours into the labor. It's a good thing he isn't here, I don't think he would've lived through the delivery." Giles said, trying not to smile.

"Actually he's technically not alive…" Willow said absently, watching Buffy as she strained to deliver the child she carried that just shouldn't be. *Could things possibly get any stranger?* She wondered.

Buffy suddenly sat up, her hands gripping either side of her extended abdomen. "NOW!!" She yelled, looking at both of her friends, he eyes clear and bright, no sign of the pain she was feeling. "GET HER OUT NOW!"

Giles quickly grabbed hold of the baby's head and as Buffy forced the child from her body, he gently twisted the child's small body until her head was out followed by her neck and then shoulders. "Ok, take it easy Buffy, with the next contraction push the baby fully out. Do you understand me?" He looked up into the Slayer's sweat sheaned face.

She simply nodded her head, taking quick shallow breaths.

"Good, now get ready to push. When I tell you to push, I want you to with all your strength-" He suddenly looked her straight in the face "Er, forget that. Just push her the rest of the way out."

Willow laughed.

Buffy grunted and pushed with the next wave of contractions. A sudden shrill cry filled the dark house. "Congratulations," Giles said smiling, wrapping the crying infant in a clean towel and sitting her on her mother's chest. "You have a beautiful baby girl."

Buffy looked down at her daughter, smiling at the small miracle she never would have been able to make if it hadn't been for Angel. She almost wanted to tell him then, but knew he didn't need to worry about a child, not right now. The child turned dark hazel eyes up to her mother and cooed. Buffy smiled at her and gently kissed the downy forehead.

The child's small fists flailed around, the fingers trying to wrap themselves around Buffy's hair. The baby squinched her nose, as if some bad odor had crossed her sense of smell. Buffy laughed at her and the sound caught the child's attention, she turned her hazel eyes inquisitively up towards her mother.

"Hi there little one." Buffy said, smiling down at her daughter. The child just cooed up at her.

"What are you going to name her?" Willow asked, coming up to stand next to mother and daughter.

"Angel Starr," Buffy answered, looking up at Willow. "She's my little Angel, my miracle, sent down from the stars above."

Willow smiled. "Angel huh?" She said. "Would that be after a certain dark, brooding vampire we happen to know that lives just a few hours drive from here?"

Buffy turned her hazel gaze up to Willow then looked back down to her peaceful daughter. "Could be," She said quietly. "Very well could be."

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Did you see Angel?" Willow asked as Buffy walked in through the door, Xander walked closely behind her, and following them in was Awnya (spelling ?). Starr came running out from the kitchen, throwing her tiny arms around Buffy's legs. "Momma!" She cried. "Did you bring me anything back?" Her pale hazel eyes went from her mother over to Xander and lastly and very briefly over Awnya. "Did you?" The girl's excitement brought a smile to the Slayer's lips.

Joyce Summers walked out of the kitchen and stared at her daughter. "How was your trip?" She asked. "Did you see him?"

"Yes," Buffy answered, looking her mother straight in the face. "I saw him and told him nothing of his daughter. He doesn't need a child thrust upon him right now. It's the last thing he needs." Buffy's voice was quiet but firm, brooking for no argument.

Mother and daughter stared at one another for a few moments, a few heart pounding moments. "It wouldn't hurt for him to know. He could at least pay you child support or something. Anything to help you out…" Joyce trailed off at the look on her daughter's face. "It was just a thought."

"Mom, Starr is something strange, out of the ordinary. He doesn't need her thrust into his life right now. I don't need him in my life right now. I won't do that to him, it'll be to hard, on the both of us." Buffy turned away from her mother, looking instead at Willow and Tara…*When had Tara gotten here?* Buffy wondered to herself. "Besides, weren't you the one who wanted him gone?" Buffy asked, her voice braking. "Now with Starr around, you suddenly want him back to help out with her…I can't have him here Mom, it brings back to many memories and the fact of what can't be. I didn't want to tell you about her but realized it was unrealistic of me to keep her from you. Angel doesn't need to know, not as long as I'm alive."

"But what if your not always around to protect her?" Her mother asked, coming up behind her daughter and granddaughter. "What if something should happen to you and she's left all alone? Shouldn't she have her father then?"

"If that time comes I'll worry about it then, not now…." Buffy turned to look over at her mother and her best friends. "If something should ever happen to me, then Angel will be told about her, not ever before."

Buffy looked down at her daughter and smiled. *Mommy will protect you no matter what.* She silently said to the young girl hugging her legs.


	5. Chapter 4

Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : I don't own it though I wish I did.

Warning : None

Chapter 4 : Part A

A new evil, a Demi-Goddess or something like that, named Glory had invaded Sunnydale…and it was up to Buffy and the Scooby Gang to take her down, as only they new how. In the end, tragedy would strike and the Scooby Gang would never be the same…Buffy Summers would give her life to save her sister.

Willow, Tare standing silently beside her, stared at the broken and battered body that had once been Buffy Summers, her best and most trusted friend. Dawn, the reason for all the carnage and the Slayer's sacrifice sat on the steps not far away, staring disbelieving on the scene that had ended her older sister's life. Spike just stared, not wanting to comprehend what had taken place, knowing that he had failed to save the life of the woman he had grown to love, if a vampire without a soul was capable of such a thing….Awnya and Xander gripped one another, afraid if they left go one or the other might cease to be also. Giles just stared, dumbfounded, his worst nightmare becoming a reality. He had failed the Slayer and she had paid the ultimate price…her life.

Willow stared, a memory flashing before her eyes:

*Willow,* Buffy had said, shortly before the fateful battle. *I have a feeling this maybe the end…if it is, please promise me that if I don't make it, you'll take Starr to Angel? I know you'd take care of her, but she'll need the protection only Angel or I can give her…* Buffy had broke off, tears silently falling from her eyes. *Don't tell him she's mine…or his. It'll only bring him sadness, especially if I do die."

*But Buffy, it might bring him some happiness if he knows he had a child with you, even in the weird awkward way it happened.* She had said, looking her distraught best friend in the eyes.

Buffy had shook her head no. *He must never find out. Just tell him she's special. I promised her my protection and if anything ever happened to me I wanted her brought to him.*

*Alright Buffy, but if he finds out somehow or another, I won't lie to him if he asks.* Willow had said, looking at her friend.

*Only if he finds out on his own. Don't tell him Willow, please.*

Willow had only nodded her head. She would follow her friend's last wish and take the little girl…ok, she wasn't quite little anymore, to Angel when the time came, but not before. She'd keep the girl with her until it was proven they couldn't protect her, not a moment before.

"You alright?" Tara asked, bringing Willow back to reality.

"Huh?" Willow asked, turning her tear-brightened eyes away from the body of her best friend. "Yeah, I'll be fine…sometime in the next century or two…." Willow trailed off, the tears threatening to flow again.

Tara hugged her and Willow looked at the tear-stained faces of the rest of the Scooby Gang. Dawn sat away from everyone else, perched on the stairs. Willow walked over to the young girl and embraced her. Dawn's tears started running anew, trailing dirty tracks down the girl's smooth skin. "She loved you dearly Dawn." Willow whispered in the girl's ear.

"But why?" Dawn asked, her voice braking with each word. "It should have been me, why did she have to do it?" The tears rolled down her cheeks faster, creating tiny rivers down her face. "It just isn't fair, it should've been me…" She repeated over and over, almost like she believed if she said it enough it would come to pass.

"No Dawnie," Willow said, gently stroking the distraught teenager's hair, "Don't say such things. Buffy gave up her life so you could continue on. She gave up her life so you could live yours. Yours is just starting, don't make Buffy's sacrifice all for nothing. She wanted us to go on and so we will." Willow paused, looking each of her friends in their eyes. "We all will continue on…" Her voice trailed off as a thought suddenly occurred to her. She'd share it with everyone later, maybe, just maybe they could bring Buffy back…. "Besides, Angel Starr still needs you. She just lost her mother, she doesn't need to loose her aunt too."

Dawn suddenly looked up at Willow, the tears gone, but the sadness remained in her forlorn eyes. She'd almost forgotten about the young girl at home, left with Giles strange friend…what was her name? Ah yes, Edna Thornington. Angel Starr didn't know the fate of her mother yet. "How…" Dawn trailed off, "How are we going to tell her?"

"I don't know sweetie.." Willow whispered, embracing Dawn again. "I just don't know. How do you tell a child that their mother isn't ever coming home again? How do you tell them that they're never going to see their mother again?" Willow shook her head, the tears starting to spill down over her cheeks again. "I just don't know." She whispered, her voice starting to quiver.

"I'll do it." Dawn whispered. "Buffy had to tell me when Mom died…I think I should tell Angel Starr that Buffy is….gone." She still couldn't believe her sister was gone. She quickly glanced over where her sister's body laid, she expected any moment now for the Slayer to get up and start moving around. To start doing anything, something….But it wasn't going to happen. Buffy was dead.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Angel Starr looked at first Willow then her Aunt Dawn. "This is a really cruel joke." She said, walking away from both of them. "So where is Mom?" She strolled across the living room and sat down on the couch and turned around to look out the large picture window. "I bet she's hiding out there waiting to come in and yell 'SURPRISE' isn't she?" She pushed the curtains apart and peered out into the darkness. She didn't see no one.

"Angel, dear," Willow started. "Your mother is gone."

"Yeah, I heard you the first time. I just don't believe it." Angel said, looking Willow straight in the eyes. "So where is she anyway? She didn't go to L.A. to see Dad did she? I told her if she did that again **I **wanted to go along!" The young girl stamped her foot impatiently against the floor, like a three year old. Which technically she actually was, she just appeared to be fourteen or fifteen.

"Angel honey," Willow said, trying to break through the child's denial, "Your mother is gone. She didn't go to visit your father, she didn't go to L.A. She didn't go anywhere. Buffy is dead. She's gone and she's never coming back." The tears started rolling down Willow's cheeks. Angel Starr's eyes opened wide in fear. "She's gone…" Willow broke down and started to cry, the sobs shaking her small frame.

"No…" Angel Starr said, her voice sounding like a small child's. "No, she can't be. She promised she'd never leave me! She promised me!" The tears were starting to fall from the corners of Angel's eyes. "How could she brake her promise? How could she?" The tears ran faster and faster down her cheeks.

Angel Starr turned from Willow and Dawn, parting the curtains again she looked out into the darkening night. *How could Mom leave me?* The thought just kept repeating itself in her brain. *How could she…how could she…*

Her eyes adjusting to the dimness of night, Angel Starr noticed a small creature lurking just outside the circle of light the window created. It's eyes blazed red in the pitch blackness of night. Angel gasped and jumped backwards in her seat. The curtain's fell shut. 

Willow and Dawn were immediately at her side. "What did you see?" Dawn asked, parting the curtains and looking herself out into the pitch blackness. Nothing stared back at her, other than her own reflection in the window. She turned her gaze down to her niece. "I don't see anything…"

"I don't know…." Starr trailed off. "I saw something looking in at me. It's eyes were red…" She silently shivered, like she was trying to shake the disturbing image off.

"I don't see anything now." Dawn said, turning her gaze over to Willow. Willow looked out the window too and looked down at the young girl and shook her head. She didn't see a thing either.

Angel just shook her head. "I don't know…" She whispered. "I did see something though. There was something out there. I saw it!"

XXxXxXxXxXx

Angel Starr yelled, kicking the vampire in the jaw. Willow shot a bolt of bright blue light straight into the undead man's chest. He staggered momentarily then resumed his wobbly track back towards the young Slayer. Angel Starr pivoted quickly on the ball of her foot and delivered a quick kick into the vampire's chest. Edna Thornington threw a sharpened stake towards the young girl. Angel caught it and deftly slid it into the ugly vampire's chest. Almost instantly he disappeared into a pile of dust that drifted off with the wind.

"Raine?!" Edna yelled, quickly looking around for her Slayer. The young woman stood a few yards away from them, dealing with her own problem. A group of vampires, numbering between four and five, circled the new Slayer. She quickly kicked one in the face while staking another. A third tried to jump her while her attention was averted, but he only received a blow to the groin followed by a roundhouse to his face. He went down with a few choice words about Slayers in general and Raine in particular.

A few seconds later the battle was done and over with, Raine wiping dust from uncertain things off of her hands. She pushed her short black hair behind her ears and walked over to where Edna stood with Angel Starr. Willow walked over to them, a smile playing across her face. "I wish you hadn't agreed to bring the child along." Raine said, looking at the pouting face of Angel. Her dark brown eyes softened at the hurt look on the young girl's face. "It's nothing against you kid personally, I just don't like having to watch someone else's back as well as my own."

Angel Starr's back stiffened. Her hazel eyes narrowed, "I don't need watchin'!" She said, looking distainfully at Raine Hartley. "I'm quite capable of looking after myself, including my back. I certainly don't need you to do it for me."

Raine backed up, like someone had just slapped her. "I never said-"

Angel cut her off. "You certainly did. I can watch myself, believe me. I've seen my fair share of monsters and ghoulies and all those nasty things."

"No one said you haven't." Raine said, placing her hands palms out in front of her chest. "It's just that I'm the Slayer and you're-"

"I am Buffy's daughter." Angel said, looking directly into Raine's dark eyes. "I am just as much of a Slayer as you are, if not more. Remember that!" She pushed past Raine, her shoulder bumping against Raine's in the process. Raine just stared after her, her mouth opened wide in astonishment.

Edna snickered and looked over at Willow. "Who does she take after more, her mother or father?"

Willow smiled at the older woman and laughed. "Difficult to tell. She acts like both of them most of the time. Angel's brooding and Buffy's stubborness not to mention her smart remarks. It's almost like having her back." *Almost but not quite, and soon I'll have to take her to her father in L.A.* Willow thought looking sadly at the young girl.

Starr's sudden scream brought everyone out of their reverie. A vampiress had her pinned to the ground, just preparing to make Angel Starr into a midnight snack when she suddenly found herself flying through the air to land in a undignified heap a few yard away. Starr quickly got back on her feet, landing deftly on her feet in a defensive crouch. "Come on tall dark and gruesome…um wait a sec, are you suppose to be a girl or a guy? You are so damn ugly it's kinda hard to tell." The young girl taunted.

The vampiress charged, which was her biggest mistake. Just stepping back and raising her arm in the air, Starr left the vampiress' momentum impale herself on the sharp stake the young Slayer was holding up. The look that was in the vampiress' eyes was one of stark disbelief. Angel just laughed at her, then fell to the ground, a vampire of ample weight and height standing behind her staring darkly at the approaching friends.

"What the hell?" Raine started to say until the ugly demon started for her. She met him halfway, throwing a punch at him before he even had a chance to think about his first move. It took Raine a few minutes to get the upper punch on the ugly beastie. She was winded and fatigued by the time she turned him into dust.

Angel Starr was rushed to a hospital, it was a few hours later that she regained consiousness. Willow looked sadly at Tara and Edna. Giles came up to them, shaking his head sadly. "She was hurt pretty bad." He said, taking his glasses off and cleaning them, but he didn't place them back on his face, he just glumly regarded Willow. "I think it may be time to take her to Angel, like Buffy wanted…"

And of part A….


	6. Chapter 4b

Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : I don't own it though I wish I did.

Warning : None

Chapter 4: Part B

Angel Starr glanced out the window again, watching as the scenery rushed past, taking her further and further away from everything that she had known, everything that she had ever loved. She was going to a new place a new world, well a new world for her at least. This was her dad's world, well…he was as close as she would ever come to having a dad anyways. 

Her birth and life was one of curiosity, one really that couldn't be explained. There had only ever been one other person in the whole world like her…that was centuries ago, lifetimes ago. That child had only survived for a few months, four at the most until an evil vampire *weren't they all evil?* popped through Angel Starr's mind, *Well, besides Dad.* Anyway, an evil vampire killed the child, hungry for the blood of something the world had never seen before and was figured would never see again. Until Angel's birth that is. Nasties came after her just the same, after her unique blood that was even more potent than the blood of the traditional Slayers. Angel Starr was a Pure Slayer, made solely to fight…or that was what Mr. Giles had thought.

Time would prove him and everyone else wrong. *Time always proves everyone wrong.* Angel Starr thought, her memories of her mother flashing through her mind. Sitting with her mother at the end of the couch as Buffy related the story of her and Angel's love and his leaving, never knowing about Angel Starr's birth. Her promise to always be there for her, no matter what. *Lies,* Starr thought, *All lies. She broke her most important promise to me.* The tears started to flow once more, silently gliding down her smooth cheeks. She hung her head, allowing her blond hair to cascade around her face and creating a curtain to hide her emotions from the rest of the car's passengers.

Willow sat in the back of Xander's jeep with Tara, both were silent. Starr sat up front with Xander, who also was quiet. *Nice mood.* Starr thought, clearing her mind of all the hurtful and sad thoughts. "How much longer?" She asked, braking the silence.

Xander jumped, looking quickly over at the young Slayer. He glanced at the clock on the Jeep's dashboard. 7:23 pm, they'd left around six, they should have another half hour drive or just a little more. "Not long." Xander answered. "Half hour give or take a few minutes." His eyes returned to the road. "You doing alright?"

She quickly bobbed her head. "Yeah, I'm fine." She answered quietly. She turned around in her seat and looked back at Willow and Tara. "Tell me about him." She told the witches.

"Xander?" Willow asked, looking curiously from Xander to Starr.

"No," Starr said. "Tell me about my father. Tell me about Angel. Mom didn't really tell me to much about him."

Willow shut her eyes, her mind wondering. *What do you tell a child about a father they never met and who doesn't even know they exist?* Willow asked herself. "He's Angel." Was all Willow could think to say.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The sun was just beginning it's descent and Angel was getting prepared to journey out into the wilds of L.A.'s nightlife. This was his nightly ritual, an attempt to make amends for what he had done over the centuries as a soulless vampire, for all the people he had hurt. Plus, it helped to keep her off of his mind…help to make him forget Willow's last visit, when she had told him about Buffy's fate and….

*No,* He thought, *I won't think of it. Nothing comes from thinking about it. Nothing will bring Buffy back.* He glanced out one of the windows, watching as the cars and people streamed past, in a hurry to get where ever it was they were going. *So much different than Sunnydale,* He thought. "Maybe if I had been there…maybe if I hadn't left after her Graduation…* He paused in his thoughts as a familiar Jeep pulled up outside and parked just in front of the old building. *Potential Customer?* Angel wondered, preparing to call out for Wesley. *It's his department after all…*

Angel watched as Xander, Willow and Tara stepped out of the old beat up Jeep. Xander helped a blond girl out from the passenger side and Angel thought, if his heart was still beating, it would've stopped. *Buffy?!* His mind screamed. *What sort of trick is this?*

The door silently opened, but from somewhere within the enormous building a silent bell went off to alert the residents of a potential customer or intruder. Moment's later Wesley was coming down the stairs, combing a hand through his hair. He stopped suddenly when he saw who it was. "What?" He asked, looking strangely at the young girl who had accompanied his friends in. "Who is she?"

Willow spoke up, stepping to the front of the group, the young girl in question now stood behind her. "Her name is Angel Starr…" Willow broke off, not sure how to say the rest. *Why Buffy did you have to make me promise not to tell him?" She silently cried. "I can't tell you anymore about her other than that she was under Buffy's care. Buffy made me promise to bring her here to you if anything should ever happen to her. We tried taking care of her ourselves, but even Raine couldn't do it. They just kept coming and coming. We couldn't do it ourselves. So, we finally fulfilled Buffy's last wish and brought her to you."

Angel looked at the young girl. *Amazing how much she looks like her, how much she resembles Buffy.* He thought, his dark eyes grazing over the girl. "Why was Buffy protecting her?"

"I can't say."

"Willow, if you expect me to take her in, your going to have to tell me what I'm up against, why whatever was after her." Angel said, walking up to the girl. Most people when they first met him trembled in fear, like they could sense he wasn't quite human. Her dark hazel eyes stared back at him, no signs of fear in them. He could swear it seemed like they almost narrowed, like she was measuring him up. A growl escaped from low in his throat. She didn't even flinch, her eyes just narrowed more.

"Don't try to intimidate me." She said, her voice was soft and sounded so much like Buffy's.

"Who are you?" Angel asked, taking a step back from the strange girl.

"I am Angel Starr, as you were already told. Anymore stupid questions?"

Angel glared at her. "What your tongue." He said, stalking up to her. She wasn't afraid of him, she didn't even tremble or quiver. Her attitude was like Buffy's, but she also resembled him in some aspects. Angel's eyes narrowed even more. "Who are you?" He repeated, putting double meaning behind the question.

"I am the Slayer, the chosen one." The girl said. 

Angel's growl that time was unmistakable. "How DARE you?!" He roared, almost loosing his temper until he felt a calming hand placed on his arm.

"She spent to much time out with Buffy, patrolling." Willow said, stepping in between Angel and Starr. "She didn't mean anything by it Angel." The witch shot a glance over to the blond haired girl. "Did you Starr? Angel use to know Buffy, they were very good friends." The look on Angel's face said otherwise.

"How well?" Starr asked, her voice soft once again. So much like Buffy's.

"Very." Was all Angel said.

"Will you watch her or not?" Willow asked.

Angel glared at the girl. *Just what I need, a babysitting job on top of everything else.* He looked down at Willow. *Well, she would keep me busy and that would help to take my mind off of Buffy, but then again she looks so much like Buffy it just might not help…* "As long as she doesn't cause me any trouble." He finally said.

"She'll be a perfect Angel." Willow said, smiling brightly. Both Angel and Angel Starr glared at her. Willow just continued smiling.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Starr watched as the Jeep pulled away, taking the last links to her past along with it. She turned around, looking up at her Father, who didn't know he was her father. Her eyes started to tear up and she fought for control, pushing the mistiness away. "I'm not usually that…rude." Starr said, looking up at Angel. "It's just with all that's happened and Mo-ah-money shortages and all…" She looked away, she couldn't believe she'd almost slipped up that bad. "Things have been hard."

Angel smiled down at her, a smile so like her own…she wondered, *Perhap's I got my smile from him instead of Mom?* She tucked that idea in the back of her mind for later study.

She heard a ruckus on the stairway and turned to just see a beautiful brunette come running down the steps. The woman stopped at the base of the stairs and looked directly in to Starr's hazel eyes. They stared at each other for a span of a few heartbeats when the woman suddenly cried out, her hands going to her head. Angel was beside her in an instant, trying to pull her towards a near by chair. "Wesley!" He yelled out, at the top of his lungs, even though they don't work. "Gunn! Hey, come on guys! Cordelia's having another vision."

Two men came running down the steps, neither one taking notice of the young girl standing next to the front door. The brunette seemed to come out of her dose of severe pain and her dark eyes immediately sought out Angel Starr. Her eyes opened wide in horror as she stared at the young girl before saying in a voice full of terror and despair and pain, "You were there. YOU were there when Buffy died. You had something to do with Buffy's death. You KILLED Buffy!"

All eye's suddenly turned to Angel Starr. Eyes filled with hate. She backed up, shaking her head in denial. "No I didn't do it." She whispered.


	7. Chapter 5

Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : I don't own it though I wish I did.

Warning : None

Ok, this one started throwing me for a loop, it might not be very good, but if this is the worst Chapter and you have my guarantee it will be, than I have done good! The rest of the Chapters should be smooth in writing, this was the only one I didn't really have planned out, so….I hope you like it…read on and enjoy and remember this was my problem child for the story J 

Chapter 5

Angel Star backed away from the hard stares. "Who are you?" One of the men asked, with a British accent, so much like Mr. Giles. *That must be Wesley.* Angel Starr thought, looking him directly in the eyes. "Why have you come here?"

Angel Starr threw her tortured gaze to Angel, beseeching him for help, to come to her rescue. His dark eyes wouldn't meet her dark hazel ones, instead he looked over at the dark-skinned man that was just helping Cordelia up. "Is she alright?" Angel asked, slowing making his way towards Cordelia and the strange black man. The man nodded his head yes. "What did you see Cordelia?" Angel asked, stopping in front of her.

Cordelia's eyes sought out Angel Starr again. "Her." Was all she said. Her eyes became cold, dark sphere's of liquid glass, her glare freezing the young Slayer to her core. "I saw her and Buffy, standing together…" Her voice faded off as the vision flashed before her eyes once again. "I saw Buffy and Dawn standing at the top of a strange tower and Buffy jumping down into a dimensional vortex. She," Cordelia said, nodding her head at Angel Starr, "Was the last thing on Buffy's mind, along with sadness and betrayal…" The brunette turned haunted eyes up to Angel. "I think she betrayed Buffy in the end."

Angel's eyes did meet Starr's then, they were hard and cold, eyes of death. "Did you betray her?" He asked.

Starr violently shook her head, tears silently streaming down her face. "No, I didn't betray her. M-Buffy wouldn't let me near the battle ground's that day…she was afraid of something happening to me…" Her voice became a soft whisper. "I imagine each day that if only I had been there, there might have been something I could've done, someway I could've helped her so she didn't have to sacrifice her life to save Aunt Dawn's." She sniffed, her eyes staring down at the cold stone floor.

"Aunt Dawn?" Wesley questioned, looking curiously at the young girl. 

Angel Starr's head shot up, she'd slipped! "Um yeah, Aunt Dawn…that's what she wanted me to call her. I don't know why, she just did. So did Willow and Tara, Xander didn't like the idea of being called Uncle, so I just called him 'The Weird Guy' or on occasions when he was really being a dork, which was most of the time, I just called him 'Uncle Dork', it usually really irritated him..." She tried to smile but it ended in a heartrending sob.

Cordelia smiled. "That sounds like Xander. Was he always trying to impress Buffy like usual…?" Her voice trailed off as she turned stricken eyes toward Angel. He must've not heard her or chose to ignore her statement, his eyes were still focused on the young girl. Cordy returned her brown-eyed gaze back to the young girl. Buffy Summers stared back at her and Cordy gasped and took a step backwards. 

Buffy's face was mutilated and her eyes were haunting, staring accusingly at the would-be actress. Blood crusted around the edges of several cuts on her face and arms. Her cloths were tattered and dirty like she had just risen from her own grave…Cordy cried out in fear, closing her eyes tightly hoping that the disturbing vision would be gone once she opened them.

Wesley and Gunn standing beside her, each put a comforting hand on her shoulders. "Are you alright?" They both asked simultaneously. She opened her eyes a crack and glanced once more at the young girl. She was herself again, the image of Buffy was gone. Cordy drew in a shaky breath and nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'm ok," She said, "I just think I'm going to go and lie down for a bit."

Wesley looked at her curiously. "Are you sure your ok?"

She just nodded her head, smiling weakly at him. "Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry about it, ok?" With that she turned and pretty much fled up the stairs.

Angel Starr nervously scuffed her foot against the floor, causing all eyes to focus on her once more. She looked up into each one of their faces. Wesley looked at her like she carried the plague; Angel had a thoughtful look on his face, her mother would've called it his brooding face, she almost laughed at the thought. Gunn, the black man, or at least she thought that was his name was, her mom had told her that Angel had a black guy working for him named Gunn, and so far this was the only black guy she had seen, he was staring at her like she was something poisonous. A young woman, *Probably a little older than mom would…* her thoughts trailed off, tears threatening to erupt from her clouding eyes once again.

She sniffled, trying to hold the tears at bay, Angel walked up to her and tenderly took her in his arms. His hand gently rubbed her back, caressing lazy circles across her tender back. "Sh," He said, his mouth near her ear. "It's alright, no one meant to scare or hurt you." He paused, drawing her back to arms length so he could get a good look into her eyes, they looked almost green from the tears. "We're all just still pretty upset about Buffy's death, then to have you thrown into our midsts, it's more than any of us bargained for." A slight smile graced his dark features.

She tried, but didn't succeed at smiling up at him. "I'm sorry," She managed to get out between threatening sobs. "I can go back if you think I'm going to be to much trouble." She offered, her voice small, hoping he wouldn't take her up on her offer yet at the same time wishing he would.

Angel shook his head, "No, Buffy wanted you here with me for a reason. She must've known something that the rest of us don't know yet, but we'll find it out, don't you worry." Angel said, looking over at Wesley and Gunn. Angel Starr noticed for the first time that another woman was standing further back, within the shadows, just behind the two men. 

"Uh, yes." Wesley said, coughing discreetly into his closed fist. "First off, I guess we should get as much information as we can about you, shouldn't we?" He said, turning his attention fully on Angel Starr. "First, what do you know of your birth, your parents, anything that Buffy might have known that would point to what was of importance that you needed to be protected by the Slayer…er, one of them anyhow."

Angel Starr cleared her throat, "Um, both of them actually." She said, her voice just barely a whisper. Her eyes refused to meet anyones', not even Angel's.

"What do you mean?" Wesley asked, his eyes wide with shock. *There is something indeed extraordinary about this child.* He thought to himself.

"Faith died shortly before I was bo-er brought to Buffy, about three years ago, give or take a month or something like that-" Angel Starr started to say.

Angel interrupted with "Faith was here-" only to have Angel Starr interrupt him.

"Yes, I know." Angel Starr said. "Faith came here after she switched bodies with Buffy and everything was put back in it's original place…um yeah, something like that anyhow. Anyways, Faith ran from Mom, she chased her here, where you and she had a falling out. She accused you of taking Faith's side, you brought Faith back from the dark side or whatever, end of story….not quite. Faith continued to fight the forces of evil along side M-Buffy, until one tragic night the forces of evil got Faith. She didn't die right away, no she lingered in pain for quite a few weeks later, but her Slayer powers couldn't help her and she died in the end. I came into the picture a little later, but not much." Starr paused, catching her breath. "Shortly before that, Raine showed up in Sunnydale along with her Watcher Edna-" Starr was interrupted again but this time by Wesley.

"Thornington." Wesley said, finishing Starr's sentence for her.

Starr turned her near green eyes up to Wesley, looking his curiously in his light whiskey eyes. "You know Miss Thornington?" She asked. 

"Not personally, but I do know of her from my time with the Council. She was as strict as what Giles was if not more…" Wesley looked darkly at Angel Starr, *What is it about this girl that seems so familiar, other than her uncanny resemblance to Buffy?* He wondered. 

"Is something wrong?" Angel Starr asked, looking over at Angel. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Angel said, putting a comforting arm around the young girl's shoulders. "Wesley just doesn't like to think about his days with the Council." Was all Angel said.

"Oh, sort of like Mr. Giles then?" She asked, looking innocently at Angel than over at Wesley.

"Um, yes." Wesley said, if he had glasses like Giles, he probably would've removed them right then and started cleaning them, but since he didn't, he politely excused himself and left the discussion, many unanswered questions still careening around in his skull. He'd get the answers to them sometime later.

Angel Starr glanced over at Gunn and the strange woman standing behind him. "I know your name is Gunn, but I don't recall Mom saying anything about any other girls other than Cordy." Her hazel eyes looked over up at Angel, standing right beside her, both his arms back down to his sides. "Who is she?"

"That is Fred-" Angel began.

"Fred? As in boy's name Fred?" Angel Starr started to say. "Who in their right mind would name a girl Fred, who for that fact in their left mind would? Fred is a guy's name, not a girls." Angel Starr looked at the closed guarded look on both Gunn's and Fred's faces. *Oops,* She thought, *Open mouth and insert foot now.* Her cheeks turned a bright shade of crimson. 

"My actual name is Winifred, Fred is just a nick name because I don't like my real name." Fred answered, staring the young up-start girl right in the face. "And who for that fact would name their daughter Angel Starr? Hippie parents?" Fred asked, suddenly looking up at Angel and blushing four shades of red. "Um, sorry Angel, no insult intended."

"Actually, Buffy gave me the name." Angel Starr said, which was really the truth, more than they would ever know. "I didn't know what my name was when I arrived in Sunnydale…Buffy thought I was an Angel sent from heaven to help her through tough times, I never understood quite what she meant up until now," Her hazel stare fell on Angel, and it was his turn to turn away from her. "The night she found me a shooting Starr streaked across the midnight sky, that's where she came up with the middle name from." Technically it was the truth, Angel Starr had been sent down from heaven to help Buffy through the times to come, and right after the infant's birth, a bright red star had gone streaking across the pitch-black skies. 

"Oh," Was all Fred said.

XxXxXxXxX xXx

"I don't trust her," Cordy said, looking into Wesley's eyes. "I don't care if Buffy sent her here or not, I don't trust her! There is something way beyond weird about that girl, even way beyond the weird that was Buffy." Cordy shook her head, trying to either clear her thoughts or put them in order. Wesley sat down on her bed next to her, keeping a respectful distance between their bodies. He'd come up to check on her after he left the uncomfortable conversation going on downstairs, Cordy had been staring at her reflection in the mirror, just staring at it.

"I think I may just go home tonight…" Cordy said, looking away from Wesley, turning her gaze instead down to the floor. "I really don't want to be in the same building as that….girl." She finally settled on saying. 

"You want to go home to your own apartment?" Wesley asked, looking at her incredulously. "We all agreed to stay here until things were back to what can be called normal for this city. Or at least until Fred gets adjusted and Angel is truly over Buffy's death."

"Be that as it may, I really don't wanna stay here with that freak of nature." Cordy said, actually lifting her face up and looking him in the eyes. "There really is something not right about that girl. Have you really looked at her? I MEAN really looked at her?" Wesley nodded his head, unsure of where this conversation was heading. "Wesley, she looks almost like Buffy! Her hair is a little darker and so are her eyes, but she's there. A little younger granted, but the girl looks like she could be Buffy's sister if not her daughter!"

End of Part 5 

Getting good yet? The story is not exactly turning out the way I planned it, and this was not how I planned for this Chapter to go, or end, but it's still very good and I'm changing things around as I go to accommodate what is actually happening on the TV series, but it won't precisely follow along with the scripts for the series, Buffy and Angel will be getting together in the end, in one way or another as will a few other unmentioned couples but I'll wait and see if you can guess who they might be….

Hope you enjoyed

Your friend ~Angel~


	8. Chapter 6

Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : I don't own it though I wish I did.

Warning : None

I hope you like this one, I think it's got to be my favorite so far…wait till you get to the end. You'll love it and really won't be able to wait for the next chapter to find out what happens to Angel Starr. Well enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Chapter 6

"Another one?" Cordy asked, looking down at the body of the young girl. She was about Angel Starr's age, give or take a month or two. The similarities didn't stop there though, the hair color was an almost perfect match as was the build and the height. They only thing they would never know was if the eyes matched too, the girl's eyes had been poked or gouged out or something horrible like that. Cordy shuddered, looking up and down the deserted alley. "I'm telling you, I know she has something to do with it!" She whispered to Angel, who was standing directly next to her, staring in horrid fascination at the young girl's body. "Oh so do not go all 'Grr' on us now!" She said, hitting him on the arm.

"Huh?" He said, turning his attention back to the problem at hand. "What?"

Cordy pointed down to the body, "You, blood, 'Grr' factor, not now!" Cordy said, pointing a finger directly at his chest. "And as I was saying, I'm positive that that girl has something to do with this. This is what? Like the third or fourth girl that's come up dead and de-eyed within the vicinity of the office building, since the week that she arrived here…" She looked at him only to find that he was staring into space, not listening to a word she had just spoken. "Angel!?" She said. No response. "ANGEL!!" She yelled in his ear. He jumped, looking at her curiously. "Are you going to stay with us or wonder around in neverneverland again?" She asked

"Um, yeah." He said. "What ever you say." He said absent-minded.

Cordelia threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "So do not go Buffy on me again!" She shouted up into the sky.

"What are you talking about Cordelia?" Angel asked, looking at her curiously. *I'm beginning to think that maybe she's lost her mind…* Angel chuckled to himself. 

"You plus spacing out equals Buffyitis." Cordelia said, like it was the most obvious thing on the planet.

"Um, yeah. If you say so Cordelia." Angel said, "Are you sure your feeling alright?" He asked suddenly turning to look over where Angel Starr and Wesley stood talking to Gunn. "Find anything else?" He called.

Wesley shook his head. "Just where the struggle took place and…." His voice trailed off, a look of disgust crossing his features.

Angel started towards them, noticing that Angel Starr had suddenly gone very pale. "And what?" He asked, "What else did you find?"

Angel Starr turned watery eyes up to him, "What does this mean?" She asked, pointing down to the dirty ground, her face contorted with fear.

Angel looked at her curiously than over to Wesley and Gunn and noticed that each of them was wearing pretty much the same look of revulsion that the young girl was. He looked down at what had caught their attention and felt his stomach turn with revulsion and his mind scream. In bloody letters made of parts, torn eyes and entrails, the message had been left: 'I will find the Slayer's daughter and when I do, all hell is going to brake loose.'

Angel Starr stared horrified down at the writing in the dirt, the entrails and severed eyeballs and blood and gore. She'd seen this all before, not so very long ago in Sunnydale, shortly after her mother's death.

*_Flashback* _(OH, I haven't done one of these before!)

__

Willow and Angel Starr running through a damp and poorly illuminated back alley, heavy footsteps pounding behind them, only mere seconds behind them…

"This way!" Willow panted, nearly out of breath. Her red shaded hair plastered to her face, mascara and make-up smudged from the exertion. She darted down a darker side alley, Starr right behind her.

"Where are we going Willow?" Starr asked trying to keep up with Willow's longer gait.

"Not much further Starry honey." Willow said risking a quick glance behind them.

Angel Starr gritted her teeth. "Don't call me that!" She exclaimed at the same time she proceeded to fall flat on her face. She quickly sat up and spun around to see what it was she had tripped over and preceded to start screaming.

Willow quickly clamped a hand over mouth, but her eyes too were opened wide in horror as she caught a glimpse of what Starr had fallen over. A body. A dead body. With the eyes removed. Willow shuddered, the chill running up her spine than quickly running back down. "Come on! Get up." Willow whispered, tugging on Starr's arms. "Get UP!"

Angel Starr struggled to get to her feet, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the girl's dead body. The girl's likeness to herself was uncanny. They could've been related. The hair, facial features, height, weight, build were all so similar. Had this girl paid with her life because of her likeness to the Slayer's daughter?

Angel Starr than noticed the writing near the dead body. The writing made from the girl's own missing eyeballs and blood. 'I will find the Slayer's daughter and when I do, all hell is going to break loose.'

Again Angel Starr shuddered and returned her gaze and attention back to Angel and his friends.

"The Slayer's daughter?" Angel said, looking curiously at Angel Starr. "Raine is the current Slayer you said? Faith had died, as did Buffy." At her nod that he was correct, he turned to look back down at the disturbing message. "The Slayer's daughter?" He repeated. "Does Raine have a daughter?"

"No." Angel Starr answered, her voice a mere whisper.

"Then what are they talking about?" Angel questioned. "As far as I know Faith never had a child. I know Buffy never did." Angel Starr's eyes suddenly looked away, anywhere but at the man she knew to be her father. "What?" Angel asked, noticing her sudden behavior.

"Nothing." Angel Starr lied. "Just the mention of her…" *Just the thought of this thing being here after me…Oh no, it'll come after all of you also.* Her mind despaired. *I have to go, have to get away from this place. It's me it wants, nothing else, just me and my uniqueness…if I go it won't bother you…* The first stirrings of a plan began to form in the back of her mind.

Angel stared at her, not convinced. *Is it possible that maybe Cordelia is correct in her assumptions of this girl?* He wondered, suddenly looking from Angel Starr over to where Cordy was now leaning against the alley wall. *Is this all a cover up for what she's really here for? Is she actually a demon of some form or another and had everybody mind warped somehow so they didn't know it? Did she really betray Buffy in the end like Cordelia believes?* The questions steadily streamed through his mind. *Is it possible that she's actually the one doing all this stuff and using this as a ruse to cover it up?*

Angel looked to his friends, "Back to the (forget the hotel's((Hyperion?)) name, find out later)," He said, making a mental note to ask Angel Starr a few questions in private. "We'll do some research and see if we can come up with what we're up against." He turned and begun to walk away, knowing that each one of them would fall into step behind him.

"So I guess we're going to trust the little freak…." He heard Cordy whisper to someone, probably trying to provoke Angel Starr into making a slip up. *I'll handle her later, don't you worry about that Cordelia.* Angel thought to himself.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Cordelia gritted her teeth against the pain that exploded in her head. *Nothing like a paranormal headache.* She said to herself. Images started flashing into her mind. 

*_Buffy and Angel Starr out patrolling together….Buffy talking to Willow about something important having to do with Angel Starr…the word untrustworthy being said…Angel Starr and Buffy dueling with swords…getting jumped by some mean looking vampires and Buffy laying on the ground wounded…Angel Starr running away with the vampires, laughing as tears of mirth spring to her eyes…*_

Cordelia screamed, kneading the palms of her hands against her temples. *Why did I insist on coming home tonight?* She asked herself. *I left that backstabbing little monster there alone with them and they have no idea what she is…no idea at all.* Tears sprang to her eyes, could she get to the old hotel building in time or would it be to late….she knew she had to get there tonight, something big was going to happen tonight.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Angel Starr couldn't sleep, so she was down in the parlor of the old building looking up at the half moon. It was not as nearly pretty here as it was at her own home…where was home again? She mused. *I want so badly to go home Mom.* She sighed. *I want to be away from this place…I have to leave this place. I'm afraid if I stay here it'll come after them too. It came after Mom and she just barely survived…I couldn't stand if someone really got hurt just because of me…* The tears began to flow then. She didn't try to stop them, she just left them slide down her cheeks, falling in small pools on the cold concrete.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Angel asked from the darkness behind her.

"No, just thinking." She answered. "How close were you and Buffy really?" She asked.

Angel just looked at her. He shook his head. "I don't think that's any of your business really."

"I was just wondering." Angel Starr said. She continued to look up at the bright half moon. "She spoke of you often, even after…" She trailed off, not sure if she could go on. "Everyone spoke of you. Willow, Xander," Angel snorted at that one. "Tara and Aunt Dawn. Anya really didn't like me too much. Mom always said it was the demon in her."

Angel looked at her curiously. *Anya's demon was gone…* Angel thought. *Slip up number one coming up on a silver platter.* "Who are you?" Angel asked, walking up to stand directly behind her chair.

"You know who I am." She said, turning around to look at him puzzled.

"No, who are you really. Why was Buffy protecting you. I'd never heard anything about you. I'm sure if you were something important enough to require the kind of safeguarding she put into you, she would've told me something about you…but she didn't. Why?"

Angel Starr's eyes remained blank. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She lied and he knew it.

"Oh, yes you do. I don't think she was voluntarily protecting you, I think you were making her do it and that's why she never mentioned you to me." He said, walking around the chair so he was standing directly in front of her. "I think you either put some sort of spell on her and her friends or you brainwashed them somehow or another. I don't think you are really who you say you are." He bent down so he was eye level with her. "You're going to tell me who you are, right now."

"You already know who I am." She said.

"I know who you pretend to be, but I don't really know you." He said, looking into her hazel-green eyes. "I know you look to much like Buffy for it to be coincidence. You'd either have to be related to her or a shape shifter…and considering you and Anya never really talked, my guess would be that you are a shape shifter." His dark eyes were drilling into hers. "Anya wouldn't have like another Demon moving into her territory when she was an actual Demon and since she really didn't like you my guess would be you were a Demon. You were controlling Buffy and the others somehow. That's what I'm going to find out, how you were doing it."

She finally stood up, causing him to fall backwards on his haunches. He looked up at her and quickly got up on his feet too. "I have no idea at all of what you are talking about." She said.

He looked down at her. "Yes you do." He said, putting his game face on. She didn't flinch or bat an eyelash, that only reinforced his thoughts on her. He advanced on her, making her retreat. She took a few steps back. He lunged, determined he'd make her change into her actual form. She just side-stepped out of the way. He grabbed her by her upper arm as he flew past. They both slammed to the floor, Angel landing slightly on top of her, pinning her to the floor. She struggled against him, trying to throw him off.

"Do you mind?" She yelled. 

"Not at all," He quipped.

"Well I do!" She was starting to get pissed. "I'm warning you right now, get the hell off of me before I do something your not going to like very much!"

"Oh? Like what?" 

"This!" She shouted as she suddenly sent him flying through the air. She heard a deep intake of breath from the staircase and turned to see Wesley standing there, staring open mouthed at her.

"What in the hell are you?" He asked. "You definitely are not human…"

Angel Starr looked from both Wesley and Angel to the reflection of herself in the mirror across the room. Tears were starting to roll down her face one more. "Who are you?" Wesley said, taking a few steps towards her.

She took a deep breath. "I am Angel Starr Summers…Buffy's daughter." Then she turned and ran out the door, into the just early morning light. Dawn would be in another hour or so, but the skies were just beginning to lighten up…

Angel stared in fascination at the spot where the girl had just been…*I need to call Sunnydale…* He thought. *Someone should be able to explain this thing. I hope at least….* He turned to look at the door, it was still open. *Buffy's daughter? Could it be true? And if it is, why did she just run?*

Your friend,

~Angel~


	9. Chapter 7

__

Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : As if…do I really need to say this? I don't own them, if I did Angel and Buffy would still be together!

Summary : Um…I forgot? Angel gets the surprise of his life once he discovers who Angel Starr really is. We'll leave it at that.

Special thanks go to : Linz, I'm glad you liked the story and that you can't wait to see where it goes, actually neither can I. LOL. Nam, well, finally I did write more, to bad it took me so long to do so. Stef, I'm glad you liked it, and I'm now writing more, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up within a better time frame. LOL. Cayla, I left myself high and dry too so don't feel so bad, I lost track of this story someplace and had to reread it just to figure out where I was. KLyn, hope you like this chapter. Wolf, love the name! Actually, yeah, I was waiting for the Apocalypse, and unfortunately I missed it somehow, or it missed me, something like that. December Wind, I love that fact that you read more than one of my stories! Lauren, you asked, it's finally been updated, hope you like. Pipes4Life, there's other stories about them having a daughter? Really? Point me in the right direction, I want to read them too! Lisa, the waiting is over, here's the next chapter, can't say that enough! Baseballmomok, here's the rest, or at least part of it. I love leaving people hanging! It's my specialty. Jodi, as requested, here's more. 

If you want to receive an e-mail when this story is up-dated, just leave an e-mail address and I'll send you a notification. Thanks!

Chapter 7:

Angel Starr ran through the deserted streets of Los Angeles, not knowing where she was going but knowing she had to get as far away as possible from the old hotel and the man who lived within. Her heart racing, she ran until she was exhausted and had no idea where she was. Slowly turning in circles, she surveyed her surroundings, tears starting to well up in her hazel-emerald eyes. Far beyond the state of exhaustion, she collapsed in the middle of the road, a car barreling down the street just narrowly missing her and crashing into the nearby light pole. Darkness engulfed the young Slayer and she surrendered to sweet oblivion.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Cordelia burst into the Hyperion Hotel, hoping beyond hope that she wasn't to late. Angel and Wesley were already there, the looks on their faces telling her that something big had just went down. Angel Starr was nowhere to be seen, but then again neither was Fred. "What happened?" She asked, looking first to Angel then to Wesley.

Angel was just starting to walk towards the phone, he turned to look at her, "Wesley will explain it, I need to make a phone call."

Cordelia turned her eyes expectantly towards Wesley, "Just as soon as he's done on the phone. I don't think he needs your yelling echoing through the phone or his ears." Wesley said.

Angel picked up the phone and began dialing in a set of numbers, long distance Cordy noticed. He put the receiver up to his ear and waited. It must've rang a few times before who ever he was calling picked up, but soon after, he hung the phone up a look of pure shock and fright crossing over his face.

"What?" Cordy asked, first looking over at Wesley than looking at Angel. "Would someone please tell me what's going on?" She nearly shouted.

"It's Angel Starr," Wesley said slowly, looking from Cordy to Angel and back again.

"What about her?" Cordy asked, already fearing the answer. _What has the little demon done, I wasn't to late, was I? _She wondered as she looked at Angel. He looked even paler than normal, if that was at all possible.

"We have to find her," was all Angel would say.

"I would say," Cordy said.

"Yes, we must, then maybe we can get to the bottom on this," Wesley said.

"Bottom of what?" Cordy fairly yelled. "What is she, a demon or something? And what about that phone call? Whom did you talk to?"

"I just called Sunnydale," Angel began, his voice shaking with-fear? Or was it surprise or hope?

"And?" Both Cordy and Wesley said at the same time.

"Buffy answered the phone!"

Both of his friends looked at him as if he had just grown a second head. That just wasn't possible, Buffy was dead…wasn't she?

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The phone rang, Buffy looked first from Willow to Dawn then to Tara. "I wonder who's calling, everyone I know lives here." She said as Xander and Anya walked through the door. "Guess it's not them." She said, walking over to pick the phone up. "Hello?" She said. No answer. "Hello?" She repeated again. Still no answer. "Ok jackass, either say something or hang the damn phone up ok?" Click and the dial tone. Buffy looked at the receiver, actually she glared at it.

"Well, it was their quarter and dime, not mine." Buffy said, shrugging her shoulders and turning to face her 'family' again. "Now, about these bills?" She said.

"Um, yeah, the bills." Willow said, holding up an envelope that had a message printed on the front of it. The phone began to ring again, Buffy glared evilly at it.

"I'm not answering it again. I don't take to kindly to some smart ass, young punks hanging up on me." Buffy said, glaring balefully at the noisy device.

"But you told them to either say something or hang up," Anya said, confused, looking from Buffy to Xander. "They listened and hung up, why are you so mad?"

"Um, Xander, explain it to her would you?" Buffy asked as Willow moved over to intercept the loudly shrilling phone before the Slayer could get her hands on it.

"Hello, Summers residence. Willow speaking, just hold a sec and we'll get to you as soon as the Slayer calms down enough not to stake the phone…" Willow glanced quickly at Buffy to see the look on the young woman's face. *Ouch,* Willow thought, Buffy was giving her a 'I'll kill you later' glare. "How may I direct you call? Slayer 101, Wicca 415 or to the top with Ex-Vengeance Demon 402?"

The speaker said something and Willow's face brightened up dramatically. "Hello Wesley," She said, glancing from Tara to Buffy to Dawn then to Anya and Xander. "What can I do for you this fine day?"

Willow listened again, the smile leaving her face. "Yes, that was Buffy." Pause. "Yes, she was dead." Another pause. "Yes, she's back, we brought her back with a spell." Pause again, Willow holding the phone away from her ear staring curiously at the receiver than putting it back to her ear. "Yes Wesley, we got the same lecture from Giles, but he was a lot happier about her being back." Another brief pause. "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. So how's Angel Starr?" Buffy's eyes lit up at the mention of her daughter. "What?! How, she wasn't suppose…." Willow paused, glancing down at the floor. "Yes, well…it just happened." Another brief pause. "Yes, she is Buffy's daughter." Wesley yelling on the other end. "It was Buffy's decision, not our own." Willow glared at the far wall. "Here, I'll let you talk to her, she's already in a bad mood, I'll let you make it even worse."

Buffy glanced from the phone that Willow was holding out to her than up to Willow and back down at the phone. Cautiously she walked towards Willow and took the phone from her, "Hello Wesley," she said sweetly, ready for the lecture of the century. She rolled her eyes and looked up toward the ceiling. "Yeah Wesley, I know…" she paused and looked around the room at the expectant faces. "Well I'm sorry you feel that way." Another pause and she held the receiver away from her ear and glared daggers at it. "Hey, I'm the one that carried her-" she bristled only to be interrupted. "Now just wait one damn minute there! He chose to leave, not me. He broke it off-" another pause as the resurrected Slayer fumed. "Hey, I never asked to be a mother, it just kind of happened." Another brief pause and Buffy was seriously contemplating putting the phone through the wall. "WESLEY!!" Buffy yelled, her eyes were cold crystals as she stared emotionless at the phone. "What the hell happened and where is Angel Starr?"

Buffy paused as her eyes took in all the worried faces looking at her. "What do you mean she-" Buffy was cut off by something Wesley was saying. 

"You had better find out where in the hell my daughter is!" Buffy shouted into the phone. "If anything has happened to her, I personally see you staked through the heart, are we clear?" She paused as Wesley replied. "I don't care if it wasn't your fault or not, I'm holding both you and Angel responsible for her!"

She glared down at the phone, her free hand clenching and unclenching, ready to wrap around anything and wring the life from it. "Expect us in the next couple of hours or so, and she had better be found by then, understand me?"

She turned angry eyes toward her friends, but no one had the guts to meet her gaze, they all just turned away or stared at the floor. "We're going to L.A., be ready within the hour. If you're not then you're getting left here."

"Is Angel Starr ok?" Willow asked, fearing the worse. Had one of the demons finally caught up with her?

"I don't know, Wesley said she ran off after she and Angel got into a fight, about what, I don't know. I just want to find her before something else does."

Buffy glanced at the phone, something suddenly leaping into her mind. She picked it up and dialed the number for the Hyperion Hotel…er, office, whatever it was called now. She waited a few seconds for someone to pick up. "Cordy, put Angel on the phone, NOW!"

"Angel?"

"Yeah," his voice came back.

"It's about Angel Starr," Buffy took a deep breath, about to reveal the young girl's entire history, including what they also knew of the first pure Slayer, Aurora.

"What about her?" He asked quietly.

"She's in trouble, you have to find her before we get there."

"Who is she Buffy?"

"In a sense, she's our daughter," Buffy answered.

There was a moment of silence, "That's impossible."

"I know, but you have to believe me on this one."

"You're going to have to do a little better than that," he said.

"Giles found an entry in the Watcher's Chronicles dating a few centuries back about a Slayer that fell in love with a Demon, they had a daughter, that by all rights should have been impossible. She was a pure Slayer, built for the sole purpose of fighting evil and destroying it. She was sought after by all that was evil, just because of her blood."

"Like vampires seek the blood of the Slayer?" Angel questioned.

"Yes. Aurora's blood was more potent than her mother's was, it's the same way with Angel Starr. Demons and vampires have been after her since her birth. I didn't want you to know about her 'cause I knew you'd come back and I didn't want to burden you with her. It would have been to hard on the both of us…I'm sorry."

"She never would have been a burden to me Buffy," Angel said softly, "If only you would have told me. How was it possible…how did she come to be? I can't have kids."

Buffy sighed, "Giles had this whole thing figured out…somehow, our act of love created her, but not in the natural means. My body created her, thanks to you. She's all me, with a few traits of you thrown in, kind of like the best of both worlds, so to say, but she's pure Slayer."

"I found that out," Angel said.

"What?"

"We got into a slight argument and she sent me flying," Angel chuckled. "It kind of surprised me, I wasn't expecting something like that from her, you maybe, but not her."

"She's full of surprises," was all Buffy said.

"I'm finding this out. Where will she go?"

"As far from you as possible," Buffy answered.

"I didn't mean to hurt her," Angel said, suddenly feeling bad for the way he had treated her.

"It's not that, Wesley said that dead bodies have been showing up around your place, It's after her, that's how it always started. Young girls that looked a lot like her, messages in the dirt, always the same thing. It was coming to get her."

"What is it?"

"We don't know, none of us have ever seen It. Only she has, and it's always terrified her to the point that she won't talk about it." Buffy sighed. "Angel, you have to find her before It does. "

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Well, here's Chapter 7...I know not a nice place to end it, huh? For all of you who have patiently waited while I took my good old time getting to this beast, thank you. This actually was intended to be the last chapter but for some reason this story is just taking on a life of its own. Let's see how long it takes me to get the next chapter out. Hopefully not another…what, about year or near there too. Review, as always and I'll try not to take more than a few months for the next chappy.


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